This con usually involves a laborer who deliberately is doing a shoddy job at a task, making an obvious display of frustration and struggling to get it "right." Upon noticing their plight a sympathetic mark will usually be eager to show them how to "get it right the first time" and start doing the job for them.

The con itself comes when the trainee pretends to continually struggle at the task still not grasping the instruction, hoping for the "skilled teacher" to either finish the task while trying to show them how to do it, or getting fed up and doing it themselves as an example of "how easy this is."

When confronted with someone who seems as if they are about to walk away from assisting the con will often beg for help and site the painful unjust punishments that will await them if they don't finish the task on time in the correct manner.

When done right this con can get an otherwise difficult (or boring) task done by another saving them the labor, while letting them keep the profit and gain the praise for doing the job. A skilled con will offer up a small portion of copper, (usually a fraction for the jobs actual pay) as "thanks" for saving from unemployment often claiming it to be the full payment for the job itself.

An interesting set of rules for a quick'n dirty zombie game. The board game "Last Night on Earth" might be a perfect addition to this given it has a huge manor floor plan and buildings + floorplans for the rest of the town.

A fun adventure and good use of the five room dungeon format that's flexible enough to plug into most fantasy campaigns.

I did notice a few small issues however, in a few places damage is listed in specific dice (for example 3d6) and some of the images don't really fit with the sub. (A burning American flag and plaque of Pennsylvania?)

Still it's a good adventure and worthwhile read, nicely done Cheka.

(On a side note are all of the images you used open source or used with permission? Strolen's and the author can get in trouble if they use copyrighted pics in stuff like this without contacting the image owner first.)

A nice magical brew to complicate and and to the intrigue of any political/royal campaign. One can expect dire consequences awaiting the poor soul who unwittingly gives a 5th addition bottle to the prince they are courting, (Or the king to gain his favor when courting the princess)

I'd have to agree with with Echo though about the wizard being able to somehow influence these merchants to his own ends, or at the very least realize their threats of imprisonment were empty given without him to produce the enchanted booze they'd have no product at all. (And his influential magic could surely convince the judge/duke to let him off with a mere fine.)

Glad I could help, although personally I would keep Donovan a kindly wizard dismayed at the abuse of his creation and perhaps have the merchants either:

A) Steal his magical tome and notes on how to make Timmy and give it to a more willing mage and include in the contract a "fair use" clause letting them use any variant of Timmy they choose regardless of who creates it and holding license over who can produce "Timmy" (Leaving Donovan "bought out" and more or less helpless to oppose the abuse of Timmy and perhaps fading into obscurity over time or going insane from it.)

or B) Have his apprentice betray him when he objected to the new Timmy use and run off to aid the company and make the twisted Timmy's for a small fortune leaving Donovan more or less powerless to stop him.

Regardless it's a great concept, I love these magics that are non run-of-the-mill and truly unique, keep up the great subs! Go to Comment

An interesting read, but I'm not sure I see much HP inspiration to warrant the intro warning. (aside from coming from a long line of wizards) Then again I never read much HP beyond the first book or two, preferring RA Salvatore and Piers Anthony's works when it comes to fantasy. *shrugs*

That bit aside it is a set of very well detailed (if rather old) individuals which makes it a bit difficult to use in a campaign as readily. (especially given how fragile and rare 70+ year old people usually are in a fantasy world, although these are wizardly/heroic types...)

The first and best use I see for this is as a background and family legacy for a young PC to be based off of, and the letter making for a great plot hook to draw them into their (great?) grandmother/fathers personal problems and intrigue.

A well put together sub over all if a bit dry, a section at the end for plot hooks would be a nice addition and help bring it all together as well as provide ideas on how to include this in ones campaign.

It reminds me a bit too much of Daern's Instant Fortress from D&D 3.5 for my taste, that aside however it is well written and a bit more useful then the original artifact.

I am curious though if the fortress mirrors the damage it receives when being used a shield? (Is it magically healed when shape shifting? Does the shield regenerate damage?)

What happens if the tower shield is destroyed? Is the contents of the fortress suddenly expelled?

Also, what about removing some of the items that were inside when it was created? (Such as a cloak, or books) Can it be done? If so can they be re added at a later date? What about maintenance to the furniture inside? Would reupholstering a chair or new down for the pillows expel the entire object or be considered part of the original and allowed to stay?

As it is with nothing new able to be kept inside having to lug around enough candles and/or lamp oil to light the tower could prove to be a pain for any owner that doesn't know magic for lighting. (Scavenging enough firewood to heat the thing in colder climates would be a serious hassle as well.)

A nice galactic introduction, and provides a good backdrop of first contact history without niggling too much over the specific details.

It feels like the prelude to something more, that it stops just shy of the next chapter involving humanities first steps into the stars. (Similar to Star Trek Enterprise?) A creative Gm could easily use this as the spring board for a space faring campaign involving the crew of Earths first FTL capable starship.

A simple weapon perfect as a family heirloom and well suited for beginning adventurers. (Especially if the swords unique method of gaining it's magical properties still makes it appear to be a mundane weapon even when subjected to magical scrutiny and detection.)

An excellent first entry, I look forward to reading more of your subs in the future. Go to Comment

A nice beginning, although I would have preferred to see some details surrounding how the chair came to be either possessed, or enchanted with the truth power.

The sub also leaves me with a lot of questions. How did this carpenter imbue the chair with such magic without his knowledge? (Or did someone else enchant it?) Why does it always tell the worst crimes a person has committed?

What is the reason for its intolerance of innocents? (It leads me to assume it's a malicious force rather then a pure truth teller?)

Can the chair only lie when innocents set upon it? Or can it mix truth and lies as it wishes to further discredit whomever sits within it?

Lastly does the chair have any sort of magical resistance to damage? (Like Mystic said, one would expect an angry sitter would have taken an ax to it well before this, or doused it in lamp oil and a torch.)

I hope to see this fleshed out more in the future, it;s got a great beginning and is a somewhat unique artifact, it just needs more back story and details to feel "complete"